Everything You Need to Know About Ebola

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Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

What is Ebola? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Questions

Do you fear catching Ebola? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Is there a possibility of an Ebola Crisis

starting in the US in size and magnitude to countries in West Africa?

. . . . . . . . . 19

Would you want to forcefully quarantine a neighbor or a family member if there was the chance that he/she might have come in contact with Ebola . . . . . . . . . 21

Do you think that both state and federal government are handling fear and problems of an Ebola outbreak well? . . . . . . . . . 24

What do you do with the people who have Ebola? Who might have Ebola? . . . . . . . . . 27

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Are people more scared of Ebola than they have to be? . . . . . . . . . 28

Are the government’s solutions really effective Or are they meant to calm people down? . . . . . . . . . 33

If Ebola is a crisis in West Africa, can it impact us in the United States? . . . . . . . . . 35

If people are over reacting, how can we calm them down? . . . . . . . . . 36

Should we worry about people’s individual rights at a time like this? . . . . . . . . . 37

Should health care workers be willing to risk their liberty as well as their lives if they volunteer their time? . . . . . . . . . 37

Is an Ebola outbreak a bigger threat than people’s fears about an Ebola outbreak? . . . . . . . . . 38

Do people’s fears, biases, and stereotypes come out when they are scared? . . . . . . . . . 38

Closing Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Interviews

Deana D. from 721 & Yelena D. (nurse) . . . . . . 27

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Yasmin H. from 721 & Yessica Torres (nurse) . . . 28

Spotlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Introduction on Ebola       Ebola is a very rare virus that was first discovered in 1976. It has affected 16,933 people and killed 6,002 (as of Dec. 1). The main three places where you can acquire Ebola are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. But the virus is moving quickly and has also spread to 5 other countries; Spain, the U.S., Nigeria, Senegal and Mali. Many people are worrying about this virus because there is not a vaccine for it yet and others are just uneducated about the topic. A recent survey shows that more than a quarter of people in America are scared about Ebola because they are concerned that they or one of their family members will get the disease. Nbcnews.com states that “what people believe is not even close to the actual reality… Even in a country affected by an outbreak, an individual’s chances of getting it are very low…” It also explains that the reason for people blowing the situation out of proportion is a mental shortcut, called the availability heuristic. The availability heuristic is when our brain tries to make sense of limited information that we have. This is why we can tend to overreact at times and get anxious over nothing. This

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packet is being made to clear up any misconceptions on the topic of Ebola. It includes many different opinions on the topic as well as insightful facts that will amaze you!-By: Yasmin Hasan 721

What is Ebola?

By: Mame Balde

   Ebola is an infectious disease that can spread only through contact with bodily fluids. The Ebola virus infects by entering a host cell. A host cell is a living cell that is able to be infected and the virus that infected it can multiply. Once inside the host cell, the Ebola virus releases a small piece of viral RNA or ribonucleic acid which hijacks the machinery of the cell and uses it to create more copies of the Ebola virus which infects other cells. Symptoms of the Ebola virus usually begin about 8 to 10 days after a person has been exposed to the virus but it can appear as late as 21 days. Ebola symptoms are very similar to the flu which includes headaches, fever, aches, and pains. There is sometimes a rash, diarrhea, and vomiting very much like the flu. About halfway into the case the virus takes a severe turn causing victims to hemorrhage. They vomit, or pee blood and bleed under their skin or from their eyes or mouth.      

Background

By Alvin Yao & Ryan Brandes

Ebola has struck the United States when one person named Thomas Eric Duncan entered the United States with Ebola. His symptoms were discovered once he landed and tested positive for Ebola. He was treated in a hospital. When he entered, he was treated by a team of doctors who had to train for the circumstances of being protected from the virus. However, he died after a few days of treatment. There has been debate about whether his treatment was fair but it was a likely outcome because the virus was discovered late. A nurse that treated him contracted Ebola.

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Recently, a few people have been sent here to be treated from Ebola and all recovered or are in treatment throughout the United States. One doctor from New York City named Dr. Craig Spencer was a spotlighted victim because he refused to be quarantined and stepped out into the public by participating in various contagious activities such as bowling and taking public transportation (by train). Another person said to have Ebola is Kaci Hickox. She came back from one of her trips in West Africa and was thought to potentially have contracted Ebola. Although she was tested negative three times, she was still forced under quarantine. Those in the United States who have contracted, or might have potentially contracted Ebola should be quarantined, however Kaci’s being forced versus Craig’s freedom of liberty prove that personal liberty versus the safety of the people is very difficult to balance out. Another thing to think about is how democracies could enforce laws that don’t violate the personal liberty of an individual against its whole population. What should we do about this?

Overview:

For Class 721

By Dino M

Recently, we have been discussing the wildfire spread of Ebola. Ebola is a virus that can cause people to get sick and even die. It is spread through direct body fluids of two or more people. For over 6 months, West Africa was having thousands of citizens get this virus. When more

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citizens came from West Africa it got some of our citizens infected. Some nurses have been tested positive for Ebola and many people are now afraid. Some governments are trying to keep their citizens safe by quarantining patients coming from West Africa. Other governments are planning to ban travel and trade. Many powerful figures have been deciding whether or not we should ban travel and trade with West Africa and if it should be official. Our class had a “Town Hall Meeting” discussing this topic and what should be done in response to it. Some people say we should ban trade and travel due to the Ebola outbreak starting in America. Others argue that we should not ban travel and trade since he have been interacting with West African countries for a long time and it can harm our economy as well as theirs. Some points that were brought up were that some citizens may be overreacting and another was if we can find balance between helping people with Ebola and help keeping our healthy citizens in order to not catch Ebola. We ask if others could share their opinion on Ebola and what should our governments do in response.

For 706

“For over 6 months, the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea have been ravaged by an out-of-control epidemic, the situation hit home for many Americans in the late September” which was diagnosed with the disease of Ebola. People are starting to get paranoid by this disease, now because of the fear they have, their fear is taking over their identity. Their fear is making them do insane things because they are trying as hard as possible to avoid this disease. The government does not know what to do exactly. They are not sure if we are trustworthy enough in order to avoid this disease to let us keep our rights or to take our rights away from us because we cannot handle this disease.

In conclusion, the federal government and state governments should respond to the Ebola outbreak in the U.S. by letting us keep our rights, because it wouldn’t be fair for the people who don’t have this disease to pay the price and to be quarantined on, especially people, who risk their lives to save other people with this disease, like doctors. What the government should do is come up with a cure for this disease so there is a lower risk/chance of having Ebola. Additionally, that would also help us avoid it and cause people to not be paranoid anymore and do things that they might regret later. –Angie Romero

Questions

1. Do you fear catching Ebola?

I would say that I am not afraid of catching Ebola because the chances are slim. In the U.S., the people who have contracted Ebola are few but the one that died shouldn’t make

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people fear. The reason that the first person died was because it was the start of the United States awareness that there was Ebola. They were partially prepared and it wasn’t until the person got off the plane until he showed symptoms. The second person was a nurse and that is where people started worrying. They decided to quarantine themselves to protect themselves. Twenty-one days is important because within that time period, the person may experience the symptoms of the virus Ebola. Also since then, the United States government took a lot of precautions to protect the people from spreading and contracting it. Direct airport travels have been banned from West Africa. The United States government decided that it is necessary to quarantine people that are suspected to have the virus even if it takes away personal liberty. Many people think that catching Ebola is really terrifying and it is. However, the chance of even getting near a person in the United States that has Ebola is none. I don’t think there is anything to fear except when you have Ebola and you are not getting the medical attention.

-Alvin Yao 721

The answer is yes I do fear of catching Ebola because it is very deadly and it has very deadly symptoms such as bleeding inside of you, vomiting, high fevers, and death it is also contagious of body fluids such as saliva and sweat. You can get Ebola very easily if you don’t be careful. I also don’t want to be quarantined for 21 days because it is very hard and also not good lying in bed for 21 days. This is why I am scared of catching Ebola.

-Jonathan Davidov 732

Yes, I fear catching Ebola for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is the possibility that there is a flaw or defect in the testing to see if you contracted Ebola. For example, what if your aunt was in Liberia visiting family members and when she was screened, they thought she was fine when she actually had Ebola. Then you are around your aunt not knowing that she has contracted the virus. When she starts showing symptoms it may be too late. If there is a problem with the testing, many people may be exposed to a deadly virus. I am also fearful of Ebola, because the range of showing signs of Ebola is 2-21 days. You may pass Ebola to a family member, friend, or complete stranger without knowing. Even though Ebola may only spread through bodily fluids, it is scary because you can’t avoid other people, so you just have to be aware of the symptoms and the facts not opinions of Ebola.

-Asia Harford 721

Yes, I fear catching Ebola. It is a sickness that can easily be caught by close ones, as it is spread through bodily fluids. Ebola, unlike many common sicknesses, has many varied symptoms and can cause death. The reason I am afraid of catching this disease is because it’s dangerous, and can spread to people that I know such as my family and friends. If they catch Ebola as well, they may go through all the symptoms for weeks until getting recovered, or die from it. Additionally, I despise getting sick and don’t like staying in one place for more than half an hour. Sickness is very uncomfortable

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and gives you the inability to do most things that you like doing every day. On top of all of that, the cost of medical care is very expensive and will most likely take away a big chunk of my family’s money. Though not a lot of people in the US caught Ebola, it’s a dangerous disease and will probably cost hundreds of dollars. Therefore, I fear catching Ebola.

-Sharon Qian 721

I am not scared of catching Ebola. The odds of catching Ebola are also very slim because you have to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of a person who is infected with the virus and already symptomatic, so Ebola cannot be airborne. Even though Ebola is one of the largest, deadliest Ebola outbreak in history and the news of the first person who caught Ebola was diagnosed in the United States has alerted people to act over dramatic to catch this virus anyway. But in my opinion, there is no need to worry because the people who ARE infected are in isolation and the people who came from West Africa are still isolated even though they are tested negative.

-Julian P 731

Yes, I do fear catching Ebola, and I am pretty sure everyone else in the world in the world fears catching Ebola. Nobody likes getting sick, much less serious diseases that could cause you death. I fear catching Ebola, personally because I am afraid that I might spread it to people, especially my family and friends, and they could even die. Also, if someone catches Ebola, it could spread to other people, and the other people could spread it to another group of people, and this process could continue. This could result in a major crisis, because if the doctors get Ebola too, it is going to be much harder to cure Ebola patients in the United States, also making it harder for Ebola patients in Africa. Furthermore, even if there might be a cure or a medicine for me when I catch Ebola, the medicine will probably cost really expensive because many people have Ebola. Additionally, there might be a chance that a person who he or she does not know that he or she has Ebola could have taken the subway, or even touching/preparing the food products we eat. I take the subway, and they do not clean the handrails of the train and the stair rails daily, so I could even catch Ebola without knowing it, even though it is a very slim chance I will. Therefore, I fear catching of Ebola.

-Emily Mogami Class 721

Ebola is a very, feared virus that many see as a threat to themselves along with our entire nation. However, I do not see Ebola as a threat for very basic reasons. These reasons are; the fact that all I have to do is basically wash my hands after unsanitary activities, staying away from Western African regions, and just common sense for when to do certain things and what to do, such as touching my face when I have dirty hands, etc. I believe that the Ebola outbreak has been caused by the ignorance of people’s knowledge on Ebola and

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the world around them. This is because the Ebola disease hasn’t just recently been found out about. We have known about this deadly disease as of March, 2014. Why is it that the news is so suddenly covering this topic night and day? All because of fear created by the media since it finally spread into America. If we had not been so ignorant and done the simple sanitary duties, and not have just sat around staying not knowledgeable about what was around us at the time, we would not be in this major Ebola crisis today. Therefore, I believe that I will not contract the disease as well as all of you out there if you just follow simple instruction, not be lazy about sanitary needs, and stay open-minded about your awareness of the world around you. I believe that the disease shouldn’t be such a bad thing to fear because the media has over-exaggerated the danger of the situation. However, this will not be a problem for me because I do not see this as such a hard thing to avoid. Therefore, given these facts, I do not fear contracting the disease Ebola and you should not either.

-Ryan Brandes 721

I do not fear Ebola because not many people in New York have Ebola. It is said that you could get Ebola from the train station, but I do not go on the train. It is also very hard to get Ebola because it is transferred by blood. Why would I cut myself then have someone else’s blood in my blood. Plus if I did get Ebola the symptoms will happen in 21 days for the symptoms to start happening and if it does happen I will call 911 or my family will call 911 and tell the doctors that I have Ebola. The hospitals will then treat me and I will take a medicine that will help stop the Ebola virus but not permanently. So I do not fear catching Ebola.

-Daniel Chowdhury 721

I would be worried if Ebola was near me but, for now I am not worried that I would catch it. Ebola has been exaggerated about in the news, and now, in our daily conversations. People have said that it is the end of life as we know it, and I personally do not agree. They are over exaggerating about the topic of Ebola. In Africa, many people have been infected but in the U.S., there have only been four people. Many people wear masks and other protection in public places such as trains fearing that they will catch the disease. Once again, I disagree with them. The disease is very rare in this country. We live in a

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country of billions, and only four were diagnosed. Some had already recovered; so then even less than four. Already people are throwing a panic. I do understand that this is not a case to play around with, but I do not think that this dilemma should have this much exaggeration, fear, and attention. I am not worried that out of billions, I would be the fifth in the United States to catch Ebola. It is too rare of a disease to cause this great of a panic about.

-Daniella Khmel 721

I think that Ebola is serious because Ebola has a lot of symptoms and I can kill a lot of people, also the doctors has to be careful which people with Ebola because a lot of doctors can also be contaminated with Ebola.

-Kimberly Gálvez Class: 731

I don't fear about catching Ebola, because chance you can ever get it is slim to none. Additionally, the symptoms show within 21 days. Some symptoms are vomiting, bleeding, Nassau, etc. Only 4 people have had Ebola in the United States. 1 person died, 2 where cured, and 1 still has it.

-Angelina Torres, 721

Yes I do fear catching Ebola because although it is not easy to catch anyone can get it. For example if you are in the NYC transit (subway) and a person sneezes or coughs on the subway poll and they have Ebola without even knowing and you touch that poll and wipe your hand on your mouth you may or may not catch Ebola, anyone can catch this disease if someone brings it to the US. I fear catching Ebola because although it seems hard to catch you may never know what could happen. Another reason is, if you are walking in Manhattan or anywhere in the US you may never know who has Ebola and they don't even know they have it without being quarantined. Ebola is easier to catch than you think.

-Melanie Bonner, 721

Ebola isn’t such a threat. Not saying I’m not scared, I mean of course I’m scared, Ebola is in NY. The people that have Ebola are being quarantined and only four were exposed to Ebola. What I’ve learned that the metal that is on our phones come from Africa. What is that metal had Ebola

-Ruben Toledo Class 731I fear of catching the Ebola because if someone gets sick you might not know if they have the virus because that is a bad virus. People who want to travel from West Africa are bad. Maybe they have the virus. You might get headaches, vomiting, etc. People all

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over the world try to stay from the people of West Africa. Health workers should take Ebola seriously because if they treat them they have to wear things to protect themselves or they will catch the Ebola. These reasons I do fear of not want to catch the Ebola.

-Ravi Bisnauth

I do not fear catching Ebola because not many of people in New York actually have Ebola. You can only transmit Ebola by body fluids like blood, sweat, and saliva. There is a very slight chance that you can get Ebola. I also think I will be helping people if I do get Ebola because then we won't have many people that have Ebola.

-Isabella Espinosa, 732

I do not have fear of catching Ebola because it depends on who you work with and the type of job that you do. For me, my chances of getting Ebola are not that high because I don’t have a job. Well I shouldn’t say that I don’t have a job because my job is to go to school. But my point is, I don’t have a job where I have to work with sick patients like doctors and nurses. They have a higher chance of getting Ebola because they have to treat people who had been to West Africa and came back with Ebola or Ebola like symptoms. That is why I am not fear of catching Ebola. Also, in order for someone to actually get Ebola they would have to be in contact with other peoples body fluids that do have Ebola. But I have never been in contact with anyone’s body fluids or anyone that has Ebola so my chances of getting Ebola are low. This is why I do not fear of catching Ebola.

-Lia Sookdeo, 706

I don’t really fear of Ebola. I say this because, even though Ebola came to New York, the person with it was put in a place so no one could catch it. Another reason why I am not worried about Ebola is because, the chances of you actually getting it is very low. You can only get it from transferring body fluids, or blood. Only 4 people actually had Ebola in the United States, 1 person died and 2 were cured, so there is only 1 person in the United States with Ebola.

-Mason Rudy, 706

Do I fear of catching Ebola? I do not fear of catching Ebola because Dr. Craig Spencer was riding on the MTA subways. He was also going to public places with friends. Nobody has seen symptoms of this disease in any of the people he was around. Everyone was tested negative so far. Plus, the disease was inside of him but was not official until he had the fever. So nobody was going to be infected with the disease. The Ebola outbreak cannot spread unless the bodily fluids of one of the people that had Ebola have touch you such as blood.

-Kayla Grant, 706

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Yes I do fear caching Ebola because Ebola is a very serious disease. It can cause people to die. Ebola symptoms can start with a very high fever and a stomach ache. This sickness has killed a lot of people in Africa and the disease is still not done. There might be people who take the train or subway and touch the railings who have Ebola and if you touch the railing and forget to wash your hands then you automatically get the symptoms of Ebola and are known as a patient. Therefore I fear caching Ebola

-Jacqueline Gulkarov 706

Yes I fear catching Ebola because you never know when you can pass it on to your family. I do fear but I also don’t because the government has already guaranteed the people that have Ebola to protect  us from getting the

-Amy Mejia, 706

Yes its true Ebola is deadly and dangerous, but no I don’t fear catching it. Ebola is very difficult to catch. The only way to catch it is by spreading body fluids. Some of the symptoms of Ebola are vomiting, bleeding, Nassau, diarrhea, etc… If a friend or family member had Ebola, I would keep my distance and as long as I do that I would be safe from catching it. You can’t get Ebola by someone sneezing on you or sharing needles etc…Although it’s difficult to catch Ebola people should start being more sanitary just in case, you can never be too cautious. People tend to over react when ever the topic of Ebola comes up, but I don’t think they should they’ll be fine just as long as their careful.

-Olivia Mijaro, 706

I do fear of catching Ebola .Fear this because i never been in a hospital or in any big injures so if I did catch it would be the first time being in the hospital do to a big problem, Ebola. In addition, I have my parents and to older sisters that could be affected by me and they wouldn't appreciate if I pass it on to them. Finally, I would want Ebola because they would quarantine my house and again my family wouldn't appreciate that. This is why I fear of catching Ebola

-Marco V, 706

I think that Ebola is a serious matter and people should not joke around with it. However people should not base their whole lives trying to avoid it. There should be a limit. So many people are threatened but there worrying for no reason. Doctors are almost done to find a cure to this tragic sickness. But people should always keep their hygiene clean just to be healthy in all, doesn’t just start now just because of Ebola.

-Makaila Balagot, 732

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Before we did the lesson on Ebola I was scared about catching Ebola, but now that I learned more about it I am not that scared of catching it. The reason I'm not scared is because we learned that you cannot catch the disease unless you’re working with bodily fluids. Or if you have a cut and someone with Ebola sneezes on you, then you will catch the disease. After I heard this I was relieved. The little I knew was that it's deadly and it's a disease in West Africa. But now I know a lot more and I'm more knowledgeable about the topic.

-Laura Tubert, 731

I don't really fear catching Ebola because it only transfers through bodily fluids. But I would be scared if I were a doctor because doctors are mostly around patients who might have Ebola and doctors come in contact with human blood or other bodily fluids.

-Kayla Gillis

No, I do not fear catching the Ebola virus. I know that it can only be caught through bodily fluids of someone who has Ebola. I think that anyone who would be infected with Ebola would be so sick that they would have to go to a doctor or hospital and then they would be quarantined. They wouldn't be walking around spreading Ebola to others. I try to stay away from anybody who is sick or doesn't feel well anyway. I don't think I am at risk because I do not have contact with sick people and have not been to any hospitals or doctors’ offices lately. Maybe if I were a doctor or nurse I would be more scared about catching Ebola. I might even be more scared if it was easier to catch, but it's not. 

-Andraia Pierce, 732

I sure do fear it because it’s a very severe flu and perhaps can lead to death and the bad thing is that you have to be with it for a long time and blood will just spill out of your face and that is probably painful and for sure scary so I have a big fear on it and I know that the president and government can make a shield that can help us out but as they all say flu's can get through anything so there is no way that we can survive it's the flu's choice to come to us or not to come over us

-George Krimov 732

I don’t fear for Ebola because the chances of getting the virus are slim. Ebola can pass from person to person with bodily fluids, like blood. You can transfer Ebola with open wounds, so you can’t get it without getting in contact with open cuts. Doctors also quarantine people with Ebola and that keeps the virus from spreading even more.

- Daniela Tinoco 706

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I don’t fear the Ebola virus as much because Ebola is very contagious but in different ways. For example you would have to transfer Ebola through an opened wound which means that the person with Ebola would have to touch the person with their opened wound in order to give that person Ebola. A democracy can make tough decisions by believing in what they believe in. For example, that nurse named Kaci who went to West Africa to help someone came back to the US and was tested to see if she had Ebola. When she was tested it said that she didn’t have Ebola so then the people were scared that she did. So, the government was telling the doctors to keep her quarantine because of the people. The doctors knew she didn’t have Ebola so did the government but since the government needs to protect the people they just kept her quarantine. That shows that government sometimes doesn’t make their own decisions which show that it is very hard for them to make a choice. As I said before the best way for a government is for them to stick to what they decided, like what they should do about Ebola.

-Aston Evan 706

The dress code nurses and doctors have to follow in order to have protection from Ebola.

Yes I do fear catching Ebola because although it is not easy to catch anyone can get it. For example if you are in the NYC transit (subway) and a person sneezes or coughs on the subway poll and they have Ebola without even knowing and you touch that poll and wipe your hand on your mouth you may or may not catch Ebola, anyone can catch this

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disease if someone brings it to the US. I fear catching Ebola because although it seems hard to catch you may never know what could happen. Another reason is, if you are walking in Manhattan or anywhere in the US you may never know who has Ebola and they don’t even know they have it without being quarantined. Ebola is easier to catch than you think.

-Melanie B, 721

No I do not fear catching Ebola because it’s really hard to catch since you have to transfer body fluids such as blood or saliva. Also as of now no One in the US has it so I don't think anyone should be scared and also America really is one of the richest countries in the world and I believe if we focus a little more we can find out way but still I believe we shouldn't invest our money in just the army because there are many important stuff in the world that I think we can really stop if we wanted like Ebola.

-Anas E, 721

Before we did the lesson on Ebola I was scared about catching Ebola, but now that I learned more about it I am not that scared of catching it. The reason I’m not scared is because we learned that you cannot catch the disease unless you’re working with bodily fluids. Or if you have a cut and someone with Ebola sneezes on you, then you will catch the disease. After I heard this I was relieved. The little I knew was that it’s deadly and it’s a disease in West Africa. But now I know a lot more and I’m more knowledgeable about the topic.

-Laura Tubert, 731

Do I fear Ebola? Well, I’m not going to lie. Of course I fear Ebola. This disease is serious

and potentially deadly. It causes eternal and external bleeding, Nassau, diarrhea,

vomiting, high fever, and other horrible symptoms. Nobody wants to get sick and

especially with those symptoms. But, the worst symptom of all is a 50% chance of death.

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This epidemic has killed more than 10,000 in West Africa itself. I’m petrified of the

disease and if it spreads. People in the city are careless about other people’s health and

safety. They sneeze in their hands, touch the door handle and maybe touch the poles on

the subway. That’s unsanitary and will cause the disease to spread at an extremely fast

rate. Therefore, I fear Ebola and the spread of it.

-Sarah Meredith, 721

I do fear catching Ebola. What causes me to be scared is that I’ve heard on the news how

many lives this disease has taken and how deadly and dangerous it is. I’m pretty sure that

this is why everyone else is scared of catching Ebola too. If this disease hasn’t taken as

many lives as it has, I don’t the people will be as scared of catching Ebola. Another way

of helping the people become less stressed is probably to first, ban flights coming and

going to and from Africa and to work a little harder of finding a cure to get rid of Ebola.

Once this is done, flight would return to normal as well as the people’s fear.

-Daviana Efraimov, 732

I do fear because I might die and feel sick and people will fear me. If i do get Ebola im

scared that the government will quarantine me a lot. Everyone will not show that much

respect to me. This is why I fear catching Ebola.

-David P, 732

In my opinion, I think that Ebola isn`t easily spread, so there should be little reason to

worry about it. Millions of people from foreign countries come to America every single

day, and there were only 4 had confirmed cases of Ebola within 2 months, or 61 days.

61 multiplied by the 1.75 million people traveling to the U.S. is 106.75 million people.

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Out of the 106 million people, only 4 were found to have Ebola. The chances I would

receive Ebola is 0.00000003747%. These percentages are so low, it is almost certain I

wouldn’t get Ebola. However, I still agree with the U.S government`s actions, since

Ebola has an extremely high death rate. But still, people sometimes just overreact with

only 4 cases. Furthermore, Ebola isn`t easily spread, compared to other illnesses

-Kevin Cai, 721

I don’t fear catching Ebola. Even though it’s a serious disease, it’s a hard thing to catch.

It’s only spread through body fluids, so that’s blood, and saliva. So you can’t really get it

unless someone sneezes in your mouth or a blood transplant if doctors don’t check if the

donor has Ebola. The only time you should fear it is if you caught it already because no

one wants a disease, especially Ebola.

-Jalen Norfleet, 721

This is simple. I do fear catching Ebola because it is not just a small cold. It is a disease

that can kill you, there may be a cure but nobody is a hundred percent sure it can cure

you. You can catch it by sneezing, even saliva and blood, which are all bodily fluids. I

believe that it is not something to joke about and that it is very serious. When getting

Ebola, you have to be quarantined for 21 days, to be sure you do not spread the disease to

other Americans in the United States. A nurse, Kaci Hickox was quarantined many times

because when the results came back negative, the doctors thought there was a problem

with the machine, so she was quarantined over 3 times. This is how serious it is. So, I

would fear catching Ebola, even though it is not near our state yet. It can cause many

people to die.

-Danielle K, 721

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The Ebola Virus at Microscopic View

Ebola is a dangerous virus that can cause people to get very sick and even die. The virus

is causing the biggest problems in western Africa, where it has spread quickly. People all

over the world are concerned about Ebola especially in the United States and are taking

steps to stop it and to treat those who are sick. Ebola symptoms can start with fever and

headache, kind of like the flu. But it can get worse and cause life-threatening symptoms,

such as bleeding and trouble breathing. Me personally I would not like me bleeding and

have headaches and trouble breathing, I like the way I am now as healthy as can be. So I

fear Ebola the disease is very dangerous and deadly. This sickness has killed more than

10,000 people already in Africa and is still not done. I am extremely scared of this

sickness, thanks to Dr. Craig Spencer he had been known to spread Ebola around the

whole Manhattan subway system. People in the city are careless about health and safety

of others. They sneeze on their hands and then touch the pole on the subway, then touch

the door knob, it is all around in sanitary and once you touch the pole when someone with

Ebola has already and let’s say scratch your eye, in 21 days you will have the symptoms

of Ebola and be classified as a patient. For these reasons I do fear catching Ebola.

-Edan Zamir

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2. Is there a possibility of an Ebola Crisis starting in the US that would be similar in size and magnitude to countries in West Africa?

No, since 4 cases have been reported in the US with Ebola, only one died because the patient was misdiagnosed and sent home. The rest three cases are currently Ebola free. Just this week Dr. Craig Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital in NY, he is completely cured, just like the others in US, and everyone who came in contact with him did not get the virus. The main reason is that all the cases except for one were diagnosed early, they were kept in isolation from others and the healthcare workers used lots of precautions to avoid any direct contact, like proper use of mask, gowns, and gloves. In addition, there is a lot of education in the US in regard of what Ebola is, and how to avoid getting it. However, in West Africa, Ebola spread in such magnitude because the lack of education and cultural tradition. For example, when a person dies, in their tradition you must hug the dead body before burial. Well if a person died because of Ebola, than that’s the fastest way to transfer it to many more. To conclude, even though Ebola Crisis hit West Africa pretty hard, it is not going to have the same effect in the US.

-Deana Davidova 721

Yes there is a possibility of an Ebola crisis starting in the US. I don’t think it will be similar in size or magnitude as in the West African countries. It will be at a greater scale. It will be a national disaster. The entire United States might have to be quarantined. The CDC has stated that Ebola is spread through bodily fluids and has an incubation stage of between three and 21 days. The CDC has also stated that they are not 100% sure that there might be other forms of transmission. We are putting our doctors and health care worker at risk every time they have to treat an Ebola patient. We already have had 9 cases of infected individuals. In order to contain and eliminate this disease we need to stop it at its source which is the countries in West Africa. There should be a travel ban put in place for these countries. If one individual with Ebola was to use the transit system in New York for example, thousands of people will be exposed to the disease. These individuals in turn will expose others. It will then turn into an epidemic. We need to be cautious. The United States is a heavily populated country, especially our cities. Our citizens depend on these transit systems for their daily use. These systems are usually congested and crowded, which puts everyone at risk if there is an infected person using it.

-Roshan Dehal 732

No. The reason is simple, because Americans are ignorant and afraid. I have not met one adult outside of my family that actually researches Ebola and it’s symptoms. Ergo, this would make them prone to assuming things, and being overcautious. This is not a bad thing though, because it serves as a foolproof failsafe. The more scared they are, the more safety precautions there will be in place.

-Ian Fernandez 732

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No. The reason is simple, because Americans are ignorant and afraid. I have not met one adult outside of my family that actually researches Ebola and its symptoms. Ergo, this would make them prone to assuming things, and being overcautious. This is not a bad thing though, because it serves as a foolproof failsafe. The more scared they are, the more safety precautions there will be.

-Ian F, 721

The Ebola Crisis in America will not at all be similar in size and magnitude to countries in West Africa. This will never happen because of the safety protocols the government enforces as well as the good hygiene our parents and guardians instill on us as young children. The government’s safety protocols ensure public safety because with possible Ebola patients isolated from the public, there is a very small chance of the virus being transmitted unless a health worker (doctor, nurse, etc.) uses incorrect procedure. The main reason why Ebola has become a epidemic is because of certain rituals such as burials that involve using poor hygiene. When, good hygiene is taught at a young age, the possibility of the transmission of viruses like Ebola is almost nonexistent. Overall, the possibility of an Ebola crisis mirroring the ones in West African countries is very unlikely.

-Garreth H, 721

Q. What should we do with the people who have Ebola in the US? Who MIGHT have Ebola in the US? A: In my opinion the people who have Ebola should be quarantined so the disease doesn’t spread to other places in the US. The people who are coming from West Africa to the US should be checked in the airports to make sure there are no symptoms of them having Ebola. People who have a negative result of Ebola should not be quarantined from the US, however they should be checked in 21 days, just to verify that there is no disease in his/her body. Most people who came from West Africa or that have a family member who has Ebola have a higher chance of getting Ebola than a regular US citizen. Honestly, I am also scared of catching Ebola because I would not like t bleed from various parts of my body, nor would I like to have hallucination. I would like to be healthy as possible and would want all of my family members and neighbors to stay healthy as well. The reason why I said that doctors who came from West Africa might have Ebola is because the doctors are the ones who work with Ebola patients, and might not wear the correct protection gear to protect themselves. Nurses as well could have Ebola, because they help the doctors cure the patients, and if the doctor doesn’t wear the correct protection gear, than the nurses won’t too.

-Alex K, 721

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3. Would you want to forcefully quarantine a neighbor or family member if there is a chance he/she MIGHT have come in contact with Ebola?

If somebody I knew or a neighbor had chances of having Ebola they should be quarantined in my opinion. I think they should be quarantined because if in 21 days they start have symptoms like fevers or bleeding, vomiting they should be checked out because they might not know if they have a disease or not. They should be checked three times because if they don’t have it the first time they’re checked days later they probably might get Ebola without knowing you have it. They should also be checked twice because the needles they use to give you shots probably were already used without nurses knowing. Even if you don’t have symptoms you should be checked to see if you don’t have it. You should also be alert of opened wounds because you can’t get Ebola if you talk to someone who has it you can only get it if contact with blood and open wound. 90% chance you might get Ebola if the person who had Ebola sneezed or had contact with wound or blood.

-Marline Guillermo, 706

Yes, I would want to forcefully quarantine a neighbor if there was a chance he/she might have come in contacted with Ebola. I definitely wouldn't want to be infected with Ebola. Even though Ebola can be transmitted only through open wounds or contact through body fluids, I still would want the neighbor to be quarantined. Additionally, I would also make sure to stay away from the neighbor. Then I wouldn't get Ebola easily. It would be hard to get it if I avoided the person, especially when he/she sneezes or coughs around me IF I happen to run into them at the wrong unfortunate time. This is why I would want to forcefully quarantine a neighbor if there was a chance he/she might have come in contact with Ebola.   

-Trinity Cruz, 706

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The Symptoms of the Ebola Virus When You Get Infected

If I had the choice of choosing a quarantine for someone it would depend on my lifestyle, for example if someone had children and their friend come back from Africa and knew people they had stayed with someone who was contacted with Ebola then yes I would quarantine them because I would have a family or newborns that is too young to get something like Ebola. Plus it much of a risk staying with that person if they starting showing the symptoms without me noticing. However if I were doctor then I would allow them to show the first symptoms then have them quarantine. But it does not affect me because I would have a safety gear not allowing the virus to change. However most people are over reacting of Ebola spreading. It had been said it ONLY happens when sharing body fluids like sharing the same needle from only one certain shot. This is not the first time Ebola had happened. It had been said that Ebola happened in 1976 so it not the first time we heard about it, when learning about Africa. We learned Africans had to trade other unknown strangers as slaves because they become poor. So due to being so poor they could not afford health aid supplies like needles and had to use the same one causing someone else blood entering your bloodstream when you might have a different type of blood. What doesn’t make sense is people just automatically demand the quarantine which will probably will have no effect because they are simple just being trapped in a ball for 21 days doing nothing or not healing. The government should act in a calm matter at least having people checked up every week so the people around them can calm down and not become that panicked as they should be. Also most people that came from Africa should notify the government on which part of Africa they were at making it easier to determine if they could get Ebola or not. In conclusion most people over react about Ebola when it only spreads with dead animals fluids, body fluids like organs. The U.S. should act in a calm manner and set up test every week to have you checked up to make sure you are not showing the sign of Ebola, also if you had been in Africa you should have a question asking you what part where you in, what was the name of the country, and were you with anyone people that had Ebola. All of these things could cause people to calm down. Also the U.S should at least send health supplies like more use of needles instead of having to use the same one again and again.

- Jahnneisi Arango 706

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I would forcefully quarantine a friend or family member if there is a chance they have contracted the virus. This is because I know that they wouldn’t want to be put in isolation, so somebody would have to give them a shove. If a relative of mine probably was exposed to the virus there is a chance that other relatives or I could easily get it because we frequently contact each other. Also, if my friend was somewhere near the virus, like West Africa or Spain, I would try to talk her/him into isolating herself until he/she is sure that they are Ebola-negative. Unlike a friend, a family member wouldn’t want to risk the lives of family and would participate in quarantining herself/himself. I am not saying that a friend wouldn’t care, but they probably would not feel as if there duty is to choose friends over themselves. Therefore I would forcefully quarantine a friend or relative who might have come in contact with the Ebola virus

-Crissania Richards 721

If there is a chance my neighbor MIGHT have come in contact with Ebola, I would want her/him to be quarantined because I do not want to risk my health and get the Ebola virus too. If he/she just stayed at home, there is a chance that the Ebola virus can spread more in the neighborhood like in the course of bodily fluids through other people around her/him. The virus can also multiply through the water plumbing if it gets in contact with the bodily fluids of the victim. Even if my neighbor might not have Ebola, there is still a small risk that can kill everyone else so I would force him/her to be quarantined and tested for the sake of my health safety. I would also want my neighbor to be properly handled by medical professions, since he/she might die if not cared for in the appropriate way. I would want my family to be quarantined too, if they do have a chance of getting Ebola. I would want them to not spread to me or others and they should be tested or helped by doctors. They would not be safe for me or themselves if they stayed at home since no one in my family knows how to handle patients with the Ebola virus properly. They would have a less chance of dying in the hands of a qualified doctor.

-Helen Shao 721

We think that if one of our neighbors has the case of Ebola we would move to another location, or probably stay and give them a lot of help to cure this virus. In addition, to this we would say that we would give them medication with our own profits. On the other hand, we would always have them quarantined for 21 day which is 3 weeks just to tell if one of our neighbors have Ebola or not. And Ebola can only receive to a person

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through about 3 weeks or so. So by then we would still have all of our neighbors quarantined to know if they have an unknown virus or out-break of Ebola!!!

-Yaffa and Jessica 731

4. Do you think that both the state and federal governments are handling the fear and problems of an Ebola outbreak well?

I think the federal government alongside some state governments is doing poor jobs in keeping their people calm about a possible Ebola outbreak. I know as a government, it is their job to inform their people on certain things about this virus, but they should emphasize the fact that Ebola is rather difficult to transmit; therefore there shouldn't be much worry. If the bright side of the situation is more brought up, it will cause for more calmness in the society. But instead of trying to keep the people as civilized as possible, the governments are rather trying to cause panic and chaos by informing the public on the painful symptoms of Ebola. This adds fear to the public, and even makes people more paranoid, which can lead to other things such as, stereotypes, and biases.  For example, people can automatically fear people coming from West Africa due to the fact that they might believe that all or many West Africans have Ebola.  This adds a bad sense of belonging for certain people.   Adding on, certain governments aggressively express their beliefs on quarantines on people who were at a certain point located in an Ebola hot zone.  In conclusion, the bright side of Ebola can shine over the dark side, and cause more harmony amongst people, and there belief in government knowledge on crisis.

-Newman Nkansah 721

The government of the U.S. should respond to the Ebola outbreak by quarantine the people who have and working on a anti-virus. For example, they should help people who have Ebola and quarantine them so people won't get scared for themselves and their children this will cause people to stop worrying and rampaging and can help the U.S. government see if the anti-virus will works. The U.S. government should make a poster or a commercial saying if you know someone or if you have it you should call 911 and tell them you have the symptoms of it and they should bring you to emergency hospital to quarantine and help you. Additionally, the government should make the price of the anti-virus a simple price so everyone can be safe. The government of the U.S. should also send some doctors to Africa to stop spreading to other worldwide places. 

-Josephine Baba, 731

I don’t think that both the state and federal government are handling the Ebola outbreak well. Instead of them helping people with Ebola they’re just quarantining people from West Africa. By helping people in West Africa Ebola cannot spread to the United States, no more fears, and no more quarantining people. The U.S is just standing there hoping for the best without taking action. It would be really helpful for the U.s and West Africa if

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they actually did do something. More than 8,000 people in West Africa have Ebola; only 3 in America had Ebola. So the best thing for them to do is to treat West Africans

-Sarah Onibukum, 732

I think our government should take every extra precaution to protect our citizens from contracting the deadly virus because the more people who contract Ebola will increase the risk of even more people contracting Ebola which can lead to a terrible disaster that’s worse than the genocide of the Taino’s. There are decent amounts of ways to end the Ebola virus or at least contain it. These ways could be risky but in this kind of disastrous case, we could try anything. The most common people who contract Ebola are doctors and nurses. The government should give the doctors and nurses more protective skin-covered gear to decrease the chances of catching Ebola but also after each surgery and before sending the doctors or nurses home they should quarantine them just in case, it might cost a big amount and might take tremendous amount of time but that can be the only way to protect our doctors and nurses helping Ebola patients and our citizens from contracting Ebola and possibly dying from this horrifying virus.

-Adam Sadov, 706

This question is often times not answered with full truth. People tend to put their fears in front of their decisions. The impaired judgment of people is detrimental to a democracy. The fact that this impaired judgment holds so much power shows that people aren’t letting the government make the decisions. This obviously means that the government is not handling the fears and problems of the Ebola outbreak. The government should focus on more non effective solutions that calm people down before they begin making big decisions for the country, such as stopping all travel and trade with West African countries that have Ebola. A decision like this would impact our country greatly for those who have family in West Africa that are Ebola free would no longer be able to visit making this country less diverse.

-Jabari Hall, 706

I think that the state and federal government’s first handling with the fear and the problem of the Ebola outbreak from the governments could have been better. They should have done this by actually trying to stop the disease, and try to calm the public. They actually try to stop the disease by inventing a method of accurately and quickly diagnose if a person has Ebola even if the symptoms don’t show. The government can calm the public by, telling them “It’s OK to worry”, “Wash hands at least 6 times a day” and others.

-Leo M, 721

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Spotlight

The Federal government: The president of the United States responded and said that we can beat this disease and the best way to stop the

disease is by working together. Obama also said that the best way to keep Americans safe is by stopping its source which is West Africa. The CDC

which is the center disease control is supplying the people with rules such as teaching health care workers how to put on and off the suit used for

protection. The Federal government already supplied $685 million dollars in fighting Ebola. They are preparing health insurances for the people unfortunate enough with Ebola and speeding the treatments for the

patients.

The State government: The United States government is becoming more cautious. They had increased their security. They check any histories of

travel from West Africa with/or any contact with a person with Ebola. They isolate these patients immediately and inform their health departments.

They also provide these patients with the tests needed. They have put new screening measures to help identify the people contaminated with Ebola. It

would not hurt to volunteer for help was what the state government was thinking.

In conclusion, the federal and state government responded to Ebola as a serious manner and not a funny topic.

By: Emily Yusupova and Danielle Kazakov 721

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5. What do you do with the people who have Ebola? Who might have Ebola?

For the people who have Ebola in the U.S. we should quarantine them and see if they have Ebola. The U.S. should also try to come up with a way of stopping the disease, but they should create a shot or medicine that can help cure the disease, Ebola. The people that might have Ebola in the US are the people that come from West Africa; we should quarantine them before they are able to go into the US. Therefore that is what we should do about Ebola.

-Komal Saini 731 We should do something with the people who have Ebola in the United States. We should keep those people separated with people who don't Ebola because if we just let them be free and have their right than they could spread Ebola and not only that, but it will be much easier to catch Ebola. People who have a high risk of having Ebola could be people who touch other body fluids (it really depends on the type of job they have). For example, we should quarantine people who have Ebola. This shows that if we only quarantine people who have Ebola there would be less chance of having Ebola because it's kind of like the flu except that Ebola is not airborne, but it is contagious and it can spread. If we separate the people who have Ebola and the people who don’t then there can be a chance that Ebola won't even exist from a few years because people lose a lot of blood and that causes them to pass away. Additionally, another example is that the people who might have Ebola might be doctors and janitors. This shows that they might have Ebola because a doctor can touch people's body fluids because they take blood tests and you never know when they drop that blood fluids because they take blood tests and you never know when they drop that blood test and they would have to clean up the blood they spill. Additionally, a janitor can also have a high risk of Ebola because if a kid vomits in a cafeteria in school the janitor would have to clean up after the kid. This shows that a janitor can have a high risk of Ebola because in order to get Ebola you would have to touch someone’s vomit and that counts as someone else's body fluids, you also never know if that kid's family member has Ebola and that kid has a high chance of having Ebola if that kid didn't touch that family member's body fluids. In conclusion, we should do something with the people who have Ebola in the U.S. because if we don't act fast then there is going to be a bad situation we would all have to face and we will all have to pay the price. Additionally the people who have a high chance of having Ebola are janitors and doctors, especially doctors who

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travel to West Africa to volunteer and help people with this disease. 

-Angie Romero, 706

I think people who have Ebola in the US should be quarantined and should take ANY medicine that the doctors think will help to cure them. I think they also need to be honest about any person they had contact with so no one else will become sick. I think in the US people who might have Ebola are people who traveled to countries affected by an Ebola outbreak or someone who was in contact by treating a person who has or had Ebola, like a doctor or nurse. 

-Andraia Pierce 732

6. Are people more scared of Ebola than they have to be?

I think that people’s reaction to Ebola is over estimated. For example, after hearing the first case of Ebola came to America, people all over the country were already in fear for their life when the spreading didn’t occur yet. Before there was even a second patient, many people were already worried that it will get to them. They were all paranoid. Although this disease can spread quickly, it has to come in contact with you and, none of these people even see this patient in real life. The people who recently had Ebola were in contact with the first patient in America. Another example of how people are over reacting is because of the government. Recently Kaci Hickox was tested for Ebola twice but still quarantined. Why? Because people were still worried that they might catch Ebola even though there was a very good chance that Hickox didn’t have. This can relate to question #8 because the government is giving the people what they want to calm them down. If she wasn’t quarantined, a smart person would leave and go somewhere else if they thought she had the disease or if they thought she didn’t have it, remain calm and continue with their daily lives without her being quarantined. When it was decided that Kaci was still going to be quarantined this made me wonder, is the governments medical options accurate? If they tested her twice, but still listened to the people’s voice and not facts, this makes me think that the equipment/options they used to test her isn’t accurate and should not be used for a highly serious disease, like this one. Therefore, this proves why people are more scared of Ebola than they have to be. To add on to the discussion of the solutions to Ebola, I’ve notice that people have been more watchful concerning their health. Before people would cough, sneeze and not be clean. But now people are taking precautions for their and others cleanliness. This tells me that people had to wait for a deadly virus to hit their country in order to step up and take action in case of their health.

-Naomi Layne 721

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Are people more scared of Ebola than they have to be? I say that people are scared of Ebola then they have to be because they are paranoid about the Ebola crises in West Africa. First thing first Ebola is not that contagious as many people seem. Ebola could only be caught through body fluids. Also you have to wait 21 days before the symptoms of Ebola begin so it is not that dangerous as it seems .To tie it all up Ebola is not much to worry about.

-David Ilyayev, 706

Yes people are more scared of Ebola then they have to be. For example if a person coughs or sneezes they will automatically think that person has Ebola. Ebola only spreads through body fluids. it doesn't spread that easily so people have to calm down. people act like one cough is the end of the world cause one cough leads to Ebola but that’s not true. They are just paranoid and they keep thinking about it but they have to calm down cause it doesn't spread easily the more they think about it the crazier they will get and before you know it the whole world is talking about Ebola and scared about it.

-Amanda V, 706

Yes, many people are more scared of Ebola than they have to be. Even though Ebola is quite hard to get where we are, being all who come back from Africa are being quarantined, fear still consumes the minds of many citizens all over the world. I would like to think the fear is strongest in the few places that actually have an outbreak. When something that’s not helpful or beneficial comes and invades your country, we instantly try to shield ourselves- fearful of what might happen if we don’t. So even though the situation for us outsiders might not be too serious, our built up fear as a community makes it seem that it is so.

-Zaria Felix, 706

People are over reacting. What I think the government should do are quarantine people with the virus in America and who was interacting or near the virus. I think that this will calm people down and also protect the people who are not exposed to the virus. For example, a woman who was tested for Ebola turned out to be that she didn’t have Ebola. She was tested three times and she had to be quarantined so that the people of America would calm down. This shows that people are very worried about catching the Ebola virus. So I think the best thing to do is keep the people with the virus treated medically and be quarantined and the people who were near the virus quarantined as well. This would probably make the people of America calm. Another way to calm people down is

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o educate them about the virus. People need to know that we can help and make this virus go away. Also, there are many ways of preventing the virus. For example, when aids was first starting everyone was freaking out, now everyone is educated about aids and now people aren't worried of catching aids. This shows how people of America can calm down.

- Angelica Ortiz 731

I think why people would forcefully want to quarantine those who MIGHT have come in contact with Ebola because people are scared. People are over reacting and are scared. However, quarantining people who might have come in contact with Ebola but don’t actually have it is unfair. By quarantining everyone that might have come in contact with Ebola is unfair to their personal liberty. Yes, people who HAVE Ebola should definitely be quarantined because they are a threat to people that are around them and should definitely be cared for in the proper ways. On the other hand people need to relax and just make sure they are being sanitary and taking care of themselves in order to protect themselves from this virus.

-Rachel Suyunova, 721

I think the answer to this question is very simple. People are not more scared of Ebola than they should be. Ebola is a very serious sickness/disease. Its something that gives you horrible symptoms and a high percentage of a death rate. Nobody would want something dangerous and deadly like Ebola. Therefore, people are scared and getting more cautious because people wouldn’t want to die and be part of that high percentage. People also wouldn’t want that kind of disease in them.Another question is: Should the US take a larger role in helping other countries in West Africa?I think the US should take a larger role in helping other countries in West Africa because Ebola is a contagious and dangerous disease. If people didn’t help other countries the disease would just spread from person to family to cities to states and then to countries affecting the whole world. My point is that the disease can spread forever. Something needs to be done which is giving a hand to the people or countries in need. Without our help it could just be a big circle going from place to place. Even though some people helping the patients with Ebola got Ebola they need to be more cautious.

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-Emily Y, 721

Yes, people are more afraid of Ebola than they have to be. It is because the US has millions of people living in the country and only four of the millions of people contracted it. There shouldn’t be a whole chaotic scene when it comes to that. So far, the only person that died in the US from Ebola was the first person that came to the U. S. with it. The person only died because it was new and unexpected to find a person with Ebola in the US. But ever since that happened, three more people got it and yet they all were cured within months. So, the citizens should not be more afraid about Ebola then it really is supposed to be. Therefore, given these facts, this shows how people are more afraid of Ebola than they have to be which they should not be.

-Bryant Goh, 721

I think that people should not be so scared of Ebola. It is not the most dangerous disease. It is more likely that a person can die from catching the flu rather than dying from Ebola. The only reason that Ebola has become so popular is because as soon as somebody in America was infected it was instantly reported on the news. Such propaganda can often cause people to go into panic because of unnecessary fear. In most articles Ebola is identified as “a killer” or as something extremely deadly and easy to contract. However the real truth of it is that Ebola is actually very difficult to contract. The only way you can contact Ebola is if a person who has it exchanges body fluids such as saliva or blood with you. If it enters your system and your immune system doesn’t fight back then it is possible that you are at risk of catching Ebola. Another main reason that people are very scared of catching Ebola is because so many people have been quarantined after they came from West Africa. There really is no need for quarantine because unless you come in contact with body fluids you won’t catch Ebola. Many people fear that if they sit next to somebody or even touch them and they have Ebola they will catch it too, which is not true. People take Ebola more seriously than the black plague which was much more devastating pandemic. Unnecessary propaganda like commercials and news articles on

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Ebola describing it as the end of mankind, are spreading panic which will lead to chaos and disorder. People should not be afraid; instead they must be educated on this virus in order to keep themselves safe. Also people must remember two things a: Only 1 person in America died from Ebola because he was not diagnosed early enough and didn’t receive treatment on time and b: We have a well developed medical care for treating Ebola. Unlike underdeveloped African countries where this disease reached an academic proportion. So people should stop over reacting towards this rare virus.

-Rebecca Koifman, 721

I think that people are overreacting over Ebola. We can calm them down by telling them and informing them more information and giving them more knowledge about Ebola because some people are informing them the wrong information because some people get confused with the flu and Ebola. For example, in the news sometimes news reporters say that Ebola can be airborne and it can be spread like the flu but that is false information. This shows that people aren’t that educated because they are saying things that are not true and that’s making people paranoid because people are doing insane things like trying to stay in their houses instead of going outside because they are informed the wrong information. Also, that we need to inform them that it can only be spread by when body fluids touch. This shows that the reason why we should show them and inform them this so they won’t be scared and think that it can be spread like a flu like if someone sneezes on you. It’s hard to get Ebola. In conclusion, I think people are overreacting over Ebola. What we need to do in order for them to be calm is to inform them the correct information so they won’t be paranoid and insane and when people are scared they do stupid stuff that they don’t mean to do.

-Juliana R, 706

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7. Are the government’s solutions really effective? Or are they meant to calm people down?

I think that the government is taking the precautions needed to try to stop the spread of Ebola. There is a cure that is helping people who already have Ebola recover little by little. Additionally, the government is creating a vaccine, which will prevent others from getting the disease, called ZMapp. However, I think that some actions they are taking might be to prevent people from overreacting. For example, nurse, Kaci Hickox was tested for Ebola (TWICE) and her results came back negative. But for some reason, she was still quarantined and told that she HAD to stay home for a certain number of days. This was so that the public would be sure that she is 100% Ebola free. But why would this happen if she was already proven to be Ebola free? Why is she still being treated differently? Some say that that the governor is giving into the fear of the people, which is not right! No one is thinking of Hickox as an individual. I guarantee that if the governor was thought to have Ebola, or someone he knew personally was thought to have Ebola, he would not want them to be quarantined more than they are supposed to. I think that being quarantined for the 21 days is fine. The only thing that is wrong is to continue to be isolated if you don’t have it, just to please others. This is because it is unfair treatment. You have no say in what is happening to you! I believe that what the government should do to stop fear of catching Ebola is to inform everyone on how hard it actually is to get Ebola. This could be done by giving information on the news, because that is mainly where everyone is being informed with what is going on. This would allow people to calm down and realize what they are really dealing with and how to prevent it.

-Yasmin Hasan 721The government’s solutions are mainly used for calming the public down. If the public is in a mass hysteria over Ebola, there are bound to be people who will blame their government for not doing the best they can to protect them. So before they can help the high-risk countries, they must calm the public down first. They tell the public that Ebola is hard to catch to give them a sense of security, which in turn would calm them down. But in actuality, very few facilities in the United States are safely set up to be able to handle Ebola patients. Ebola is ranked as a bio safety-level 4 pathogen, which is the highest ranking for the world’s most dangerous pathogens. This means that

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all hospital staff should be knowledgeable on how to deal with an Ebola patient, but a survey conducted showed that 75% of nurses lack sufficient knowledge on Ebola, which would prove to be very serious if there ever is an Ebola patient. In order to assure the public’s concerns and worries, the government will need either a very convincing illusion, or just more education on this deadly disease.

-Serena Gao, 921The government of the U.S should quarantine anyone in the United States who has Ebola and send more nurse agents to Africa in order to stop the problem at the source. The government should also prevent airplanes from going from Africa to somewhere else and only allow paramedics and doctors to and from Africa. Also once the doctors and nurses come back from Africa they should be quarantined for 21 days.

-Roman Dzhanov, 706

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Ebola nurses and health workers in a makeshift hospital built to test Ebola patient’s blood.

The places where people were most affected by the virus Ebola

8. If Ebola is a crisis in West Africa, can it impact us in the United States?

Yes, Ebola has impacted West Africa and it can impact us as well in the United States. First of all, West Africa has about 15,000 people with Ebola. Ebola is a virus that can be transferred to other people through body fluids like blood, saliva and sweat. This virus can impact us a regular basis. For example, we have many people who go to West Africa and many people who come from West Africa to the U.S. When people go to Africa, they can get Ebola when they come back and spread the virus. With people coming from West Africa, they can have the virus and spread it. This mostly happens with nurses who go to West Africa and help take care of the patients. They could get the virus while taking care of the patients through blood or sweat and they can bring it to America to start the spread. Additionally, Ebola will impact the United States because of trade. When we trade with West Africa, the people who ship the products could get saliva on the product and send it to the United States and it could largely impact us. Finally, the virus has impacted the U.s so much that it made us check passengers who come to the country. Airports in places like New York and Chicago are now having an Ebola protocol for citizens coming from West African countries like Liberia and Guinea. To conclude, the United States is impacted by Ebola since we interact with west Africa and it increases our chances of getting it. We also have to be aware of our surroundings since some people in the U.S have Ebola and it can spread like wildfire like it did in west Africa

-Dino Mulani 721

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9. If people are over-reacting, how can we calm them down?

I believe that if people are over-reacting about Ebola, we could calm them down by saying that the chance of getting Ebola is very low. According to research, the chance of contracting Ebola in America this year is a chance of 1 in 13.3 million. This is very low especially to rate of it in West Africa. We could also say that the only reason that people are talking about Ebola nowadays is that someone was diagnosed with it and has come to America. The truth is that Ebola has been around since 1976 and first occurred in a village near the Ebola River in Africa, hence the name. I believe that if I inform them then they will have knowledge on this subject which in this situation could mean between the matter of life and death. People should always be careful and prepared.

-Alex M. 721

We can calm people down that are over-reacting about Ebola by pretending as if there is a cure for Ebola even though there is none. By pretending like there is a cure we can trick over-reacting people into thinking that they can’t get Ebola even though there is a chance that they can get the virus. Also, another way to calm down over-reacting people about Ebola is to stop reminding them about the virus there could be a chance that some over-reacting people about the virus could forget anything that has to do with Ebola. By not reminding people about Ebola this can stop over-reacting people think about Ebola and be scared the fact that the virus Ebola is deadly. Therefore, we should tell over-reacting people as if there is a cure and/or not tell over-reacting people anything at all that has to do with Ebola.

-Sarah Yakubov 732

If people start over-reacting we can calm them down by not telling them that people are continuing to get Ebola. If we stop talking about this people will stop worrying about it and they will think that there is no more Ebola. Also another way to make people calm down is by quickly developing a cure that will automatically make you not have this disease any more. This will make people happy because there is a way to be cured.

- Violetta Kalantarov 706

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10. Should we worry about people’s individual rights at a time like this?

I don’t think we should worry about people’s individual rights we should be focusing on what will be better for the whole entire country. If we have to sacrifice one person’s right to save thousands of people then so be it. It may sound a little selfish but in my opinion it would be pretty stupid to risk many people catching Ebola a deadly disease over one person rights. Instead of thinking about ourselves we should think about what we should do as a country, what would benefit us and what wouldn’t benefit us. We should quarantine anyone coming from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea so less people have a chance of getting it especially if they are coming to crowded cities like New York. In New York everywhere is overcrowded and everyone is touchy so if one person gets Ebola and doesn’t check their temperature or quarantine them self then there is a chance an Ebola outbreak could happen in New York. Which in turn would be horrible for the country because New York is a center for trade and many tourist come to New York also New York is home to the stock market which can collapse and the even greater depression will start so we will have to do what is better for our country even if it means violating people rights those people were nice enough to go help in West Africa but now must sacrifice them self for their country it’s better one out of a thousand then a thousand because of one.

-Mame Balde 721

11. Should health care workers be willing to risk their liberty as well as their lives if they volunteer their time?

I personally believe that health care workers have the right to do what they want. If a health care worker wants to be a warrior and risk their lives to help others, I would never say no. Ebola has become an epidemic in West Africa and the worst possible outcome is that Ebola becomes an epidemic in the US. Therefore we should put a stop to Ebola now. America is a land of liberty. So the health care workers should be able to make a decision of whether or not they want to volunteer for a type of job such as this one. I do agree though, that the health care workers should take the proper precautions and be quarantined as soon as they set foot back in America. This would simply prevent the spread of Ebola in the US, which is exactly what we don’t want.

-Asia Harford 721

I feel health care workers should help because it’s what they do. Their profession is to help people if they feel sick. Thomas Eric Duncan died because he wasn’t helped. Do you want to die?

-Simone Reynolds, 731

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12. Is an Ebola outbreak a bigger threat than people’s fears about an Ebola outbreak?

I think that the people fearing of an Ebola outbreak is more of a threat to the world. People may think that an actual outbreak is a bigger threat. However, an outbreak can be controlled and most of the time will be. If you are unlucky, you will get it. When people are fearful of the virus, they overreact and most of the time, the people will then act crazy and doing anything to protect themselves. When people are fearful, they demand for the leaders of the nation to step up and handle the situation. In some cases, the people wouldn't be satisfied. They may act against the government and with no justice, chaos will fall upon them. People will act on their own desires. An Ebola outbreak can be controlled and stopped if the government and the people cooperated so that the higher authority can deal with the virus. When was the last time an outbreak actually made humanity disappear?

-Alvin Yao, 72113. Do people’s fears, biases, and stereotypes come out when they are scared?

I believe that biases come out when people are scared. When people are scared, they usually put their needs over others. They let their emotions get the better of them. If this happens, thousands of people will be concerned and will flip out if Ebola is in their areas. There is a fine line between being cautious and being too scared of Ebola. People should not let their personal health come over the lives of millions since if other people have Ebola; their odds of getting it are even higher than before. Therefore, biases come out when people are scared and they get the better of the person.

-Dino Mulani 721People's fears, biases, and stereotypes do come out when they are scared because they overreact to the crisis. For example, people fear that the Ebola virus will spread and contaminate their family or relatives. People let their stereotypes and fears get the best of them and become desperate for safety by criticizing people who are infected with the virus and forcing/commanding the government to do something about the dangerous situation just because they are scared. In addition, some citizens might start threatening or do many things to the government for resolutions and actions to help them such as commanding the government to keep people that traveled in quarantine for their safety without thinking about those people's rights. Therefore, people's fears, biases, and stereotypes do come out when they are scared.

-Jhoana Guambana 706

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Closing Thoughts:

I think that a democracy doesn’t need to make tough decision if they can just tell people the risk so that they would be aware of the side effects. If we didn’t tell the people they wouldn’t be aware of the virus and the virus would spread even more then it would have.

-Anthony Zimmardi, 732

Democracy can make tough decisions by taking risks of their people about serious cases such as Ebola. The government has to make tough decisions for this case because it is deadly and it could destroy a lot of population. I am scared and also not scared of Ebola because I get worried about deadly cases and I am not scared because I am usually aware when I walk outside with my friends or family. That is how democracy could make tough decisions.-Aaron Avila 732

Interviews

Deana D, 721

Deana: What hospital do you work at and what is your job.

Yelena: I work at NYU Medical Center in Manhattan. I am a respiratory therapist. I take care of patients who are sick and cannot breath on their own. They are usually on breathing machine, and my job is to manage that machine, give medication, and take care of them.

Deana: How did you prepare for the Ebola virus?

Yelena: There are few steps that my hospital did to prepare in case we have to take care of Ebola patient. First the hospital designated a negative pressure room which would be the primary admitted room for the patients. Then employees that work on that floor had to go intensive Ebola training.

Deana: How do you dress/prepare for an Ebola patient?

Yelena:  Contact precautions with Ebola patients are very important, because the virus spreads easily via contact. So nurses, doctors, respiratory therapist went through two sessions of intense training in donning on protective personnel equipment (PPE) which means gowns, gloves, mask. Putting the gowns and gloves is easy, but taking them off is the most where we need to pay attention to.

Deana: If an Ebola patient arrives at your hospital how will you react.

Yelena: I cannot refuse to take care of the patient. But I will be very careful with donning on and taking off my PPE.

Deana: Could the virus become airborne?

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Yelena: No, it's not airborne, but the hospital is taking extra pre-cautions and putting them into a negative pressure room.

Interview with a Nurse from New York PresbyterianReporter (Yasmin Hasan)Nurse (Yessica Torres; A.K.A Yasmin’s mom)1.) Reporter: Where can you find sheets or pamphlets on Ebola in the hospital?Nurse: In the Emergency Room, you can find pamphlets or signs with information on Ebola. The purpose of them is so that the hospital staff will be notified. They explain what to do if you encounter someone who has the symptoms of Ebola. Also, in every unit there are signs/sheets, pasted on the walls, which give information on Ebola. Places such as the labor and delivery, antepartum, and pediatrics will contain these sheets. Generally, they are put in areas where people visit their primary care provider/doctor.2.) Reporter: Are there different packets for the doctors and patients? Why would this be?Nurse: There are two different packets. One is for the patients to know the causes of transmission, the symptoms of the virus, how to be diagnosed, treatments, and prevention and control. The other packet is for the hospital staff to know how to safely treat a patient that has the symptoms that meet the criteria for Ebola. This is so that they will know the steps that are needed in case they encounter a patient with the symptoms, while making sure that they do not contaminate others or themselves.3.) Reporter: What is the purpose of the pamphlets and sheets for the patients, on Ebola? Could they just be to calm some people down?Nurse: The pamphlets are mainly for the people to be aware and educated. They are not so much for anyone to feel comforted about Ebola. They are to make people aware of the causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention.4.) Reporter: What do you think about others’ reactions towards Ebola? How should they really feel?Nurse (opinion): I think people should be more educated on Ebola. There are many other viruses that are killing thousand in this country as it is. For example, influenza is a very severe virus that is deadly. It has already affected millions of people and killed thousands all around the world. Also, the media is focusing on Ebola a lot, which is making people even more scared. The reason

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for this is that it is a new outbreak in our country, and it helps their ratings. People are getting scared because they have a fear of the unknown. So the media is taking advantage of that, because they know that the people want to receive as much information as possible.Check out our links: http://harfordasia.wix.com/ebola

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